Living in a post-Covid world, we are learning quite a bit about how to adapt in an environment that requires outside of the box thinking. It has been an excellent melting pot of ideas and innovation as people, businesses and organizations discovered how to survive – and sometimes thrive – in a time where digital life has come into full bloom.
At the height of pandemic, when social isolation and distancing kept most folks at home, new ways had to be found to be engaged, entertained, educated and just to be social. Perhaps the silver lining to the Covid cloud was the creativity that rained down from a very dark sky. Organizations provided digital programming over various social media platforms, and zoom meetings and live streams broadcast over the internet kept us up to date on everything that happened and helped combat the depression that many experienced while stuck in their homes.
This digital experience is a thing that is likely here to stay. Many people reconnected to their fami-ies and friends with this surge in internet-based socializing, and many rediscovered their heritage by digging deep into genealogical research and studying their roots.
Greene County was on the cutting edge of this new digital revolution. Good ol’ Greene had long been learning the ropes of making things happen in a digital world. History and genealogy had paved that road for years with websites and social media groups that folks could join and engage in. It is a virtual “Greene County” community made up of people from all over the country, and in some cases the world – all individuals who had some sort of connection to the region.
In early 2021, Greene County got a big boost into the digital world that few people heard about. In a small history class through Waynesburg University, conducted over live streaming services, Dr. Kathleen Thompson, a resident of Fairmont, WV and Adjunct History Instructor at Waynesburg University came up with an interesting project. Dr. Thompson wished to make the best that she could out of the circumstances related to Covid and the inability to have in-person classes. She introduced Greene County and the students of Waynesburg University to the latest and most current way to digitally represent and promote historic and interesting sites by means of a simple, free app that can be downloaded to a cell phone.
“The Clio” app can be found in your phone’s app store via a simple search, and you can find more information with a visit to http://www.theclio.com. The Clio app is a GPS based service that allows you to use your phone to find nearby historic sites, both large and small. It provides text and audio-based information as well as photographs, directions, and locations. In some instances, walking and driving tours are available to provide an excellent opportunity for a day out, enjoying the great outdoors.
Dr. Thompson decided to help her History Students create walking tour of the interesting buildings and places in and around the Waynesburg University campus. Dr. Thompson introduced her class to The Clio app and explained its use and the process of making entries for various. She then set about giving her class an overview on how to research and interpret sites, and how to synthesize the results of that research into an entry that would not only be accurate and informative, but also relevant, educational, and entertaining.
Each student in the approximate class of eight was assigned the task of creating two entries to produce a full-fledged walking tour of Waynesburg University. The class brainstormed a list of potential sites to for which to create entries, then pared the list down until each student had their own two sites. Dr. Thompson guided the class to potential sources of research to uncover facts about their sites, and throughout the next several weeks worked with her class to review rough drafts of en-tries, help create content for the entries, and reviewed every entry to ensure that a quality final product would be made.
All throughout the research and writing process, Dr. Thompson invited guest speakers from all over the country who were all familiar with historic preservation and interpretation to inspire students on what to focus on and how to create their entries. By April 2021, the tour was finished.
Now available for view, and use, this tour can be accessed at: https://www.theclio.com/entry/131193/tour or from The Clio App.
The 16-entry walking tour takes you on a guided journey throughout the campus of Waynesburg University and provides detailed information on buildings such as Hanna and Miller Hall, The Stew-art Science Building, the Marisa Field House, as well as outdoor spaces such as Ritchie and West Parks.
Waynesburg University is not the only nucleus of sites in Greene County to discover on Clio. You can go anywhere in the county, bring up the app, and find something nearby to visit. Many of the older local cemeteries have entries, and historic houses and businesses, places such as Crows Rock and the site of the Corbly massacre are all represented on The Clio, as well as many other sites.
The Clio is a crowd-based site that anyone can join to create entries and upload them. Once re-viewed by administrative staff, the entries go live for everyone to enjoy and experience.
As summer passes and we slowly enter the cooler, more comfortable fall weather, download The Clio app, and see what all you can find. Either walking around town or going for a drive out in the country, there will be something to capture your interest. The current Clio tour of Waynesburg University has received well over a thousand views, and folks who live here in Greene County, as well as people from all over, can see and learn about this specific area of our county and learn about the impact it has had on our greater community.
Users on the website are also able to download PDF versions of Clio tours and entries, either for reference or to have handy while going on a walking tour.
Just a note, when searching for The Clio app, please include the word “the” in the search terms. There are other apps with the same name that will come up in a generic search, but if you search for “The Clio” specifically you’ll have an easier time finding the correct app.